Former Steeler Clark Haggans to serve 9 days in Westmoreland jail for DUI

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Former Steeler Clark Haggans to serve 9 days in Westmoreland jail for DUI

Former Steeler Clark Haggans to serve 9 days in Westmoreland jail for DUI
By Renatta Signorini and Paul Peirce

Published: Wednesday, June 20, 2012, 1:46 p.m.
Updated 11 minutes ago

Former Pittsburgh Steeler Clark Haggans was incarcerated this morning in the Westmoreland County Prison to serve a nine-day sentence for a 2011 driving under the influence offense in Arizona.

Haggans, who now plays for the Arizona Cardinals, reported to the prison yesterday to serve the sentence, according to county Sheriff Jon Held.

“He turned himself in this morning,” Held said.

Haggans, 35, will serve a mandatory 48 hours, then be on work release for seven days, the sheriff said.

Haggans is paying the county $702, or $78 a day, to serve his sentence locally, Held said. During his work release, Haggans will leave in the mornings and report back in the evening to sleep at the jail.

Warden John Walton said Haggans, who lives in Arizona, requested to serve his sentence at the Hempfield jail.

“He’ll be treated like everyone else. I guess through his years with the Steelers he has some local ties,” Walton said.

“He’s paying his own way. We’ve taken in prisoners from all over the United States who live here and may have gotten in trouble from other jurisdictions. ... It’s not uncommon,” Walton said.

“We had to get a court order from out there, which he provided us with. He had to fill out all of the paperwork like everyone else and also undergo a urine test when he got here — just like everyone else,” Walton said.

The Steelers took Haggans in the fifth round of the 2000 draft. He was a linebacker on the Steelers Super Bowl XL team that beat the Seattle Seahawks in February 2006. He left the Steelers in 2008 and signed with the Arizona Cardinals. He recently re-signed a one-year deal with the Cardinals.

Haggans was arrested April 21, 2011, in Maricopa County, Ariz. According to court records there, police pulled Haggans over for speeding and running a red light.

Records indicate police determined his blood-alcohol content was more than .20 percent. Drivers with a .08 blood-alcohol content are considered legally intoxicated in Arizona.

Haggans agent, Jeff Sperbeck, posted a statement on Twitter about the incident.

In the statement, Haggans explains he was at a concert, and drinking, when he got a call from a “panicked” babysitter saying his 5-year-old daughter was having trouble breathing. After trying unsuccessfully to find his wife/designated driver, he left for home, and was pulled over. Officers accompanied him home, he gave his daughter the medicine she needed, and then he was cited for a pair of moving violations. He’ll spend 48 hours, plus seven additional nights in jail as part of a plea agreement.

“In hindsight, I should have found another way home, and I take full responsibility for my actions,” Haggans’ statement read.

Haggans agent, Jeff Sperbeck, posted a statement on Twitter about the incident.

In the statement, Haggans explains he was at a concert, and drinking, when he got a call from a “panicked” babysitter saying his 5-year-old daughter was having trouble breathing. After trying unsuccessfully to find his wife/designated driver, he left for home, and was pulled over. Officers accompanied him home, he gave his daughter the medicine she needed, and then he was cited for a pair of moving violations. He’ll spend 48 hours, plus seven additional nights in jail as part of a plea agreement.

“In hindsight, I should have found another way home, and I take full responsibility for my actions,” Haggans’ statement read.